DianaTeacher Burnout: is that why they need hols??Nah.... (LINK)
May 6th 2008 11:35
Hey, dear readers: I am really overwhelmed by the response to the last couple of posts. Are you all ex-teachers out there? Something struck a chord: was it the 'whinging teacher' bit?
I think the long holidays teachers get do rankle with people, even though they probably grudgingly agree that teachers need them, in a way.
One of the things I have found about being a teacher (secondary by the way) is that you tend to get burnt out deaing with people all the time, and the emotions of those people.
Well, the students are one thing of course: they are or can be demanding, difficult or downright worrying. Depending on the school you are in, teachers can feel their physical safety is threatened (as I have mentioned at other times on this blog) by students, or can be overwhelmed by the difficulties of getting students to co-operate. Some kids arrive at school from lives disrupted, chaotic and dysfunctional. Their home life can be out of control and they bring this into the classroom with them. They wreck the learning process for the others kids and make the teachers life hell.
You all saw 'Summer Heights High', right? Some of that was spot-on.
What a bout that Jilly Cooper novel, um, called I think "Wicked"? Oh yes, I know based on the UK system, but oh God perilously close to the truth of the Aussie scene. (tho glammed up for a novel....)
But there is also internal politics to deal with concerning other teachers or the admin itself, and this can stress -out teachers as much as or more than the students.
If you work in the Victorian state system, you may be working in a physical environment which is less than attractive: rooms filled with damp or mildew, roofs caving in, no heating or air-conditioning, no ventilation in many cases; working in remote 'portables' away from the rest of the school and getting into difficulties with bullying classes; ill-equipped tables and chairs; no whiteboard; limited access to computers: I could go on.
The room in one of the schools I work in (I am peripitatic) has the roof collapsed and a dead rat on the floor, and door partially blocked by an old fridge which has been there for 12 weeks. Nobody is responsible so nothing changes. Needless to say I have shifted rooms!
Well, I did intend to tell you more about other stuff but maybe later. I have to stop and go and do some prep for tomorrows classes!!!
Chat anon...
I think the long holidays teachers get do rankle with people, even though they probably grudgingly agree that teachers need them, in a way.
One of the things I have found about being a teacher (secondary by the way) is that you tend to get burnt out deaing with people all the time, and the emotions of those people.
Well, the students are one thing of course: they are or can be demanding, difficult or downright worrying. Depending on the school you are in, teachers can feel their physical safety is threatened (as I have mentioned at other times on this blog) by students, or can be overwhelmed by the difficulties of getting students to co-operate. Some kids arrive at school from lives disrupted, chaotic and dysfunctional. Their home life can be out of control and they bring this into the classroom with them. They wreck the learning process for the others kids and make the teachers life hell.
You all saw 'Summer Heights High', right? Some of that was spot-on.
What a bout that Jilly Cooper novel, um, called I think "Wicked"? Oh yes, I know based on the UK system, but oh God perilously close to the truth of the Aussie scene. (tho glammed up for a novel....)
But there is also internal politics to deal with concerning other teachers or the admin itself, and this can stress -out teachers as much as or more than the students.
If you work in the Victorian state system, you may be working in a physical environment which is less than attractive: rooms filled with damp or mildew, roofs caving in, no heating or air-conditioning, no ventilation in many cases; working in remote 'portables' away from the rest of the school and getting into difficulties with bullying classes; ill-equipped tables and chairs; no whiteboard; limited access to computers: I could go on.
The room in one of the schools I work in (I am peripitatic) has the roof collapsed and a dead rat on the floor, and door partially blocked by an old fridge which has been there for 12 weeks. Nobody is responsible so nothing changes. Needless to say I have shifted rooms!
Well, I did intend to tell you more about other stuff but maybe later. I have to stop and go and do some prep for tomorrows classes!!!
Chat anon...
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Comment by Hephaestus
Comment by Diana
Eyes On Oz
Secondly, one doesn't 'cruise' thru the day' and finish at 4- there are meetings and other hoops to jump through before being released back into the public.
And C, for many there is no job security: ever heard of c-o-n-t-r-a-c-t-s????
But still, thanks for reading and thanks (I think) for commenting, after all we are all entitiled to our opinion, however bigoted and misguided it may be, like yours.
Comment by Hephaestus
Curriculum? Don't BS me, there's the standardised learning outcomes. So what if you have to use your brains to do the lesson plans: that should be the FUN part of the job!
Your daily cruise is so beautifully structured. As is your money: guaranteed in the bank every fortnight hail or shine. Try a small business job. ANd as to whinging about contracts .... MOST teachers are employed full time on great conditions negotiated by the inimitable Mary Bluett.
Don't whinge. And don't call your paymasters bigots.
Comment by Diana
Eyes On Oz